


Christmas in July

by Karis_Artemisia_Judith



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Christmas In July | Christmas Out Of Season, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8244089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karis_Artemisia_Judith/pseuds/Karis_Artemisia_Judith
Summary: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas--scheduled for a six-month assignment, Corporal Bjorgman is going to miss them all, but before he leaves he surprises Anna with a special picnic.





	

“Can I open my eyes now?”

“Not yet.”

Anna fidgeted, bouncing on the cracked leather of the passenger seat as Kristoff’s truck stuttered down an uneven road. She’d tried to guess where they were going, but she was pretty sure that he’d driven her in circles while she’d gotten distracted peppering him with questions.

“Is the surprise bigger than a house?”

“No.”

“Smaller than an elephant?”

“Probably.”

“Is it an animal, vegetable, or mineral?”

“It’s…kind of all three, I guess.” That had really thrown her off, and she’d taken her hands down from her face to glare at him. Anna had gotten just a glimpse of his laughing grin before he reached over to cover her eyes with his calloused fingers. “No peeking,” he said. “You’ll see it when we get there.”

Gravel crunched as the truck rolled to a stop. “Can I look now?”

“Not yet—keep your eyes closed and hang on a second.”

She heard his door open and then close. Through the cracked window she could hear birds, the soft _shush_ of the wind blowing through the trees. Kristoff’s boots went _grunch grunch_ as he came around the cab of the truck, then his steps were muffled. Fragrant air washed over her as he pulled the door open, the rich, clean scent of pine needles filling her lungs.

“Kristoff! I know where we are!”

“That’s not the surprise, don’t open your eyes yet—here.” He helped unfasten her seatbelt and guided her out of her seat, lifting her down easily. “Just walk forward, don’t worry I’ve got you.” Hands on her shoulders directed her gently around unseen obstacles. Occasionally she felt branches brush against her like curious, prickly fingers.

“If going to the Christmas tree farm in July isn’t the surprise, what—”

“Okay, this is it. Open your eyes.”

Anna’s lashes fluttered as she blinked against the golden evening sunlight. They were standing in a field, surrounded by evergreens that grew in orderly rows. There was a little open space in front of them where a few trees had been cut down already, making room for a plaid picnic blanket spread out near the base of a tall, lush tree. There was a little pile of neatly-wrapped presents under the branches, and the tree itself had been decorated—wrapped in strings of popcorn and paper chains, with bright sunflowers tucked in among the needles and crowning the tip in place of a star.

“Do—do you like it?” Kristoff was rubbing sheepishly at the back of his neck, and he had to move fast to catch her as she tackled him in a fierce hug.

“It’s _beautiful,_ I _love_ it! You did all this for me?”

“Yeah—we joked about having Christmas in July, so I thought—”

Anna bit her lip and looked down, her shoulders sagging. Kristoff’s arms wrapped around her even more tightly, holding her close. She pressed her face into his shirt for a minute and tried to hold back the tears that welled up every time she thought about him leaving. He just hugged for a long moment, then he leaned back a little, gently tilting her chin up. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. C'mere, let’s sit down.”

She smiled up at him, only a little teary, and sat beside him on the blanket. He picked up a box and put it in her lap. “Open it.”

“I didn’t get you anything.”

“That’s okay. Go on, open it.”

Anna sniffed, and tore into the paper, then opened the box. A fuzzy golden-brown face looked up at her, with big brown eyes. The teddy bear wore a uniform, splotchy green and tan camouflage decorated with all the right insignia on his chest and sleeve, down to the tiny ‘Bearman’ nametag. Anna sniffed again, then suddenly buried her face in the bear’s stomach. “Kristoff! He smells like you!”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of…I splashed with him my aftershave and put him in with my clothes for a while. I thought…maybe it would help.”

She hugged the bear to her chest. “It might help a little. Not as good as the real thing.”

Kristoff wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead apologetically. “I know. But I have to go.”

“I know.”

“It’s just six months.”

“Six months.” She sighed. “That’s Christmas, and Thanksgiving, and Halloween—”

“Wait, wait, I thought of that!” Kristoff reached behind the tree for a cooler. “Say trick or treat,” he prompted.

“Trick or—” Candy showered into her lap, the chocolate only a little melted thanks to the cooler. “Treat,” Anna finished, giggling. He leaned over to kiss her softly.

“That’s my favorite treat,” he murmured, then he blushed, so Anna had to kiss him back.

There were turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches in the cooler, too, and a wishbone. When it snapped in their hands, Anna had the bigger half. She shut her eyes and wished fiercely. _Bring him home safe. Keep him safe and bring him home. And don’t let him forget me while he’s gone. But most of all keep him safe_.

“You should open the rest of your presents,” Kristoff asked. “It’s going to get dark soon.”

One box held her favorite red flannel shirt, worn thin at the elbows and perfectly soft, the shirt that she was always 'borrowing’, and that Kristoff had to steal back from her. There were other things—a picture of him in his dress uniform, a coffee mug with a picture of them together on a roller coaster, a hand-knitted blanket (“that one is really from Ma, she helped me put this together”)—but the last box was the smallest. It was also the most carefully wrapped, in shining gold paper with a red satin ribbon tied in an almost-perfect bow.

Kristoff covered her hand with his for a moment before she could open it. “Listen—you don’t have to keep this one, if you don’t want. Or you can hold onto it for a while and think about it. I mean—six months is a long time, and if you decide you don’t want—”

Anna was already ripping into the package, her fingers shaking as she opened the little box. The ring inside was perfect, a rose-gold band that curled around a chip of pink quartz, more personal and perfect than any diamond. “Did you—you had this made? For me?”

He nodded. “Is it okay?”

“It’s beautiful, it’s perfect, Kristoff.” There was a pause that stretched out into a silence.

“So—what do you think?” he said hopefully.

“I think you haven’t asked me anything yet, Corporal Bjorgman.”

He took her hand, his fingers rough and warm against hers. “Anna, do you want—I mean, will you—will you marry me?”

Suddenly she couldn’t speak, so she nodded frantically. Yes, yes yes _yes_. He gently slid the ring onto her finger and she curled her fingers around it, holding tight.

“When?” she blurted. “Now? Right now? Could we get married now?”

“I was thinking more of when I get back—”

“That’s in six months! What about tomorrow?”

* * *

The sun sank down behind the trees, and the velvety twilight deepened  from purple to endless silvery black. Kristoff had tried to find a way to get Christmas lights on Anna’s tree, but there hadn’t been a generator that he could borrow. Instead they lay back on the blanket and watched the stars come out, twinkling in the distance, while crickets sang a soft carol around them.

“So that settles it. We’ll get married the day after tomorrow.”

“And then again when I get back.”

“Yes! We can invite everyone and have a big party—all your cousins can come! Maybe we could have it here, I know they do events and weddings in the barn. But first we’re going to get married the day after tomorrow.”

“If you’re sure–”

“I’m sure.” Anna pushed herself up on her elbow so that she could look down at him. “I’ll marry you as many times as you want, Kristoff Bjorgman,” she said. “As long as you come back to me, I’ll marry you again, and again, and again.” She punctuated her promise with kisses, until he pulled her down to him and made promises of his own.


End file.
